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He said this winter's planting season had started strong, with good demand from farmers.

Green Belt planted 2,200ha in 2016 and Mr O'Reilly said he would be striving to exceed this figure in 2017.

A report from the Forestry Service in December indicated the number of planting approvals, or Form 1s, were back 19pc on a year-to-date basis, and the area covered by these forms was down 20pc.

The number of Form 1s that were technically approved were back 16pc on the year-to-date, and the area down 13pc.

The reduction in Form 1 approvals has been dismissed by some in the industry who argue that this trend stemmed from moves by the Forestry Service to stop multiple applications for planting clearance on the same parcel of ground.

However, others claim the December figures signal a sizeable fall-off in planting for the year ahead.

Under existing plans, Ireland aims to increase the level of forestry cover from 11pc of the country's total area to 18pc. This will require an additional 480,000ha of land planted.